Top 5 Fantasy Baseball Matchups (Jun. 19th)

It’s 5 PM on Sunday evening, just about that time you realize you have work tomorrow, but more importantly, haven’t set your fantasy lineup for the week ahead. After rushing to the computer, you panic and realize that your all-star fantasy stud has been placed on the bereavement list, or worse, has hit the DL! What do you do? Here at FBS, we offer you some advice as to the players we think are going to be rewarding owners for the upcoming week of play.

Hitters

1.Julio Borbon, OF TEX: Borbon was a favorite fantasy sleeper coming into the year, but really fizzled strongly to begin the season. After having just a .292 slugging pct in May, he’s got a .690 one in June and has his average all the way up to .282 for the year. While he still doesn’t have the amount of steals fantasy owners would like to see (only eight), he remains a threat every time on the base paths and should be on frequently this week as he heads for matchups against Pittsburgh and Houston. He’s especially recommended for rotisserie formats.

2.Brandon Phillips, 2B CIN: Frankly it doesn’t matter who’s on the hill with Phillips these days, as he’s simply mashing everything he sees. So far in June, the talented second baseman is 24 for 58 (.414) with 13 runs scored. While he doesn’t have too many RBI (24), his ability to hit for power (9 HR) and run (10 SB) make him a legit candidate for the 20/20 club. Patient owners are now being rewarded for their trust in Phillips as his batting average is up to .311 on the season, and should be active in every format heading into the week.

3.Adam Dunn, OF WSH: You pretty much know what to expect with Dunn year in and year out: low batting average, lots of power, and fairly good RBI numbers. However, this year seems to be different for Dunn who is off to one of his best starts in years. The big lefty has five HRs over his last eight games and 16 on the season. Fantasy owners are certainly enjoying his .288 average and despite only 38 RBI, his production has been spectacular. He’s been one of baseball’s hottest hitters this month and should keep it going against the lowly Royals and Orioles.

4.Marco Scutaro, SS BOS: Who had Scutaro on their draft board heading into this season? If so, congratulations, but the majority of you are probably lying. Either way, it’s time to jump on the Scutaro bandwagon if you haven’t already. He’s really enjoying his first year at Fenway and June seems to be his favorite month as evidenced by his recent play. He is batting .338 this month with two homers, seven doubles, 14 runs, nine RBI, and is producing like an OPS machine. Scutaro will look to keep the power surge going in some NL matchups against the teams out west.

5.David Wright, 3B NYM: Remember all that talk about Wright’s slow start to the season? His swing looked long and he struck out (it seemed) in almost every other AB. That same guy currently boasts a season line of .289/12/53 with 11 SB. Not only is Wright leading the NL in RBI, but he’s on pace for a 25/25 season while batting around .295 and driving in well over 100 runs. In June he’s really turned on the jets and has become an RBI machine of late. He’s a fantasy stud in any format and is very emphatically silencing the early season critics.

Pitchers

1.Jaime Garcia, SP STL: This kid’s miraculous season is just getting more magical with every start. It’s too bad Jimenez is stealing the spotlight because Garcia’s numbers are absolutely outstanding in every sense of the word. Despite only a 6-3 record, Garcia has a miniscule 1.59 ERA and 1.23 WHIP. He doesn’t do anything too exciting, but does strikeout a fair amount of batters (66 in 79.1 IP) while really limiting the opposition. With matchups at Toronto and at Kansas City, Garcia could get net wins seven and eight by the end of the week.

2.Neftali Feliz, RP TEX: When Feliz came up to the show last season, everyone in Texas saw what the team was so excited about; this kid has an absolutely electric arm. While there is some debate as to his long-term role, it’s clear that he’s thriving in his current situation with 18 saves (20 chances) and maintains a 2.97 ERA. He has 34 K’s in 30.1 IP on the year and should continue to roll as long as he keeps getting the opportunities.

3.RA Dickey, SP NYM: Dickey has simply been too hot to ignore since his promotion from Triple-A and looks to stick in the Mets rotation for the foreseeable future. He’s emerging as a legitimate option in deeper leagues, as he is 5-0 on the season with a 2.82 ERA. Even more impressively, he has 31 K’s in 38.1 IP and has used his knuckleball to perfection thus far this season. With his ability to vary speeds on the pitch, he’s become awfully difficult to adjust to and is really giving hitters fits at the plate. He’s highly recommended if you have a roster spot open, but don’t drop anyone too valuable just to try him out.

4.Justin Verlander, SP DET: Over Verlander’s last three starts, he’s yielded just seven runs and maintains a 2.86 ERA over that span. With a two-start week ahead, results look promising for the flamethrower, as he’s 10-1 with a 2.88 ERA career in interleague play. He’s got the potential to strikeout batters at an alarming rate, so definitely get him active.

5.Colby Lewis, SP TEX: Lewis has been everything that the Rangers could’ve hoped for and even far more than that. To say that he’s exceeded fantasy owners’ expectations would be an understatement, as I don’t think that anyone anticipated the success he’s currently enjoying. Lewis has been a strikeout machine with 81 K’s in 84.2 IP and has a very respectable 3.30 ERA. Lewis has put together back-to-back impressive outings in his last two including a 10-strikeout performance at Milwaukee in his last outing. He’ll look to carve up the same Pittsburgh lineup that was decimated recently by Sir Strasburg.